It's as if we're waking up from a bad dream. Suddenly, everyone doesn't want to live in a cookie-cutter suburb, miles from the nearest strip mall, sitting in traffic for at least an hour every morning and evening (and at other random times). Now building urban centers is the 'in' thing, especially in areas that have been neither urban nor particularly centralized.

This is a fundamental change coming to the places many of us live and work, and in Washington CEO Magazine's December issue, our senior writer Aaron Corvin takes an in-depth look at the new attempt to reinvent the traditional downtown in today's world of sprawling exurbs and a mobile workforce. Whether it's Renton, the poster child for the movement in Washington state, or Seattle's Northgate neighborhood, or Spokane, Tacoma, Federal Way or Bellevue, the movement is already in full swing.

On a related note, Aaron also explores the recent credit crunch, brought about by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Tighter lending practices are having an effect across the country, and Washington is not immune. On the other hand, we might not be all that bad, especially when compared with the messes down in California, Arizona and Florida.

Our other senior writer, Bryan Corliss, explores the issue that creates these bubbles in the first place: wealth. Spurred largely by the success of the local technology industries, there are more millionaires and billionaires in Washington than ever before. All that wealth is transforming the way we live, but the real question is if it will change the soul of the Northwest as well.

We've got a number of goodies for you as well, both in the magazine and online. Look for us on newsstands now.